BP Needs to Rebuild Gulf Businesses: Mark Cuban

BP needs to stop “counterpunching” in the Gulf region and actively support local business to rebuild the region, entrepreneur Mark Cuban told CNBC Thursday.

“Right now, they are out there counterpunching, and they are getting the hell beaten out of them,” said Mark Cuban, an entrepreneur who made a fortune in the high-tech world and the owner of the NBA team the Dallas Mavericks.

"[If I were BP] I would get out in front of this problem," Cuban added.

The Gulf oil spill began on April 20 after a deadly explosion that killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, oil has reached the shores of the Gulf states, including Louisiana and Florida.

BP has been struggling to deal with the oil leak and its attendant problems.

Local businesses in Louisiana, including those of fishermen, supporting businesses and sports fishing, have come to a standstill as a result of the environmental catastrophe.

Cuban said BP should be “better corporate citizens,” by rebuilding local businesses. “They need to say, ‘Let’s help the area. We can control what we can and do something significant.' ”

About Goldman Sachs , now defending itself against the SEC, Cuban said, "They are the ultimate financial system hackers. They have capital. They exploit it every which way they can for their benefit as much as for their clients', but they're not the investment bankers that we used to see back in the 90s."

Cuban expects an eventual collaspe in the mobile phone apps battle. "The winners will be big winners," he said, "and the losers won't lose much."

He said what's different about tech start-ups now as opposed to computer start-ups in the 1980's is there is no one to take a new company to the second level, after it receives seed money. Cuban said most new companies can get going with a relatively small investment, between $100,000 and $250,000.

"The Strategy Session," hosted by David Faber and Gary Kaminsky, airs weekdays at Noon ET on CNBC.